I think I've used that title for a blog entry more than once but weare in Wyoming country now and it seems appropriate for this new entry.This entry is best read while listening to this music. [i]Copy this https://youtu.be/PYI09PMNazw and open in another window please. Enjoy!

We are currently in Sheridan, Wy located between South Dakota's BlackHills National Park and Wyoming's Yellowstone Park. This region isknee-deep in history related to (mostly bloody) U.S. and Native American relations. It took us about 17 days to get here from Boston and wedrove and hiked through amazing landscapes and into big/small cities. There are times when our travel energy gets low but then we see oldfriends who help recharge our batteries so we can complete this almostyear-long journey.

Originally we had planned on driving down to Florida where wewould fly to Chicago and Minnesota to visit friends. Then we wouldtry and catch a new ferry service back to Merida for Fall and Winter. As it turned out, the new ferry service never materialized and Andrea'sniece back in So. Calif. happened to be need of a car for her senioryear in high school.

Soooo we made the amazing decision to drive back across the countryin the Spark. After 4 months in storage, the car started up and resumed the drive. Boston in August is much nicer than it was in Aprilbut I still remember the bitter cold. As usual, the weather dicatedwhich way we would go. A severe storm just south of us meant we neededto stay more north, taking a drive path that took us to Albany, New Yorkand then to Buffalo, New York. We drove along the edge of the stormand we were occasionally socked by torrential rains that came from nowhereand lasted 15 minutes or so. That brings me to the 'Ugly' in the title.

...The Ugly

Driving conditions for us this year were mostly good and occasionally very ugly.

This big, beautiful land called America is filled with extreme weatherconditions that arrive very quickly and very powerfully. It seemed this year wasfilled with highly unusual weather conditions and we constantly hadto monitor the weather conditions to see if it was safe to drive.Our trip started from California in the Fall and everything was fineuntil October when winter blew across the country with a vengeance. Thewinter driving conditions forced us to escape to Mexico's Yucatan wherewe were ended up buying a winter home in Merida. When we returned in early Spring, winter still had its grip on much of theU.S and we needed to avoid unseasonable snow and ice-stormseven on the most southern edges of the Southwest.

We had a brief respite while driving through Florida and up through theCarolinas but cold and snow greeted us when we hit New York and New England. Even in early April, snow was everywhere along this part of the eastern seaboard and Boston was still a bone-chilling, snow-covered mess by the time we arrived to catch our flight to Europe in April.

It's August now in America and we are driving through a cornucopia ofsomewhat challenging driving conditions. Tomorrow's weather report says strong winds are expected. The vast openness ofthe Wyoming lands make it easy for strong winds to blow our subcompact car around.

Today, we are dealing with haze generated by all the smoke from the variety of wildfires currently plaguing the western states. Windowsstay rolled and the smoke shrouded mountains around us appear as ifthere is some kind of ancient Indian 'smoke signal' war going on.

A few days ago, we drove through the kind of thunderstorm that drops rainso heavy you can barely see more than 20 feet in front of you.

A few days before that, clear sky gives way to very dark ominous clouds aswe drive along the edge of a severe thunderstorm while driving throughOhio to Chicago, Illinois. It can be disconcerting when a favoritesong on the radio is suddenly interrupted to alert you that a tornadomay possibly pop up in your vicinity. The alert is thorough in its information in what you should do if your faced with a tornado. Hey, weare from California. What do we know about tornadoes??

So, for us on this trip, 'ugly' has been the weather challenges whiledriving. If that is all we have to call "ugly" then this has truly beena damn good trip!

Of course when we hit Buffalo, NY we must see Niagara Falls. It was neveron our minds, when we arrived back in Boston, that we would see NiagaraFalls but that is where the weather pushed us. I had no expectationsof the Falls other than it being some kind of crazy tourist trap but I was surprised by how impressed I was by the power of the Falls eventhough it seemed to be at maybe 1/4 it's true flow.From there we drove down towards Pennsylvania, stopping in Jamestownto visit the Lucy and Desi Museum on Lucille Ball's Birthday. We didn't plan that. It just happened that way. We checked out Pittsburgh and got a first taste of the massive infrastructureprojects that seem to be going on in nearly every city we've hit. Typical4 lane freeways are shrunk to one and we move at a snail's pace which makesour average 4 hour drives even more of a drudgery.We march on through Ohio and Indiana and into Illinois to stop for a3 night stay at 'Jupiter's Airbnb'. This brings me to the 'Good'.

....The GoodDriving for several hours through unfamiliar territory, checking intonew hotel rooms practically every night and constantly planning ournext destination can wear a person down. But we both looked forwardto staying at Jupiter AirBnb located near famous Wrigleyville, homeof the Chicago Cubs and our good friend Adam. I met Adam during mypoetry administration days in San Francisco but he, like many smart,talented, creative types left the Bay Area for a different life.Andrea and I both enjoyed seeing the face of somebody we know andenjoyed the shared meals and incredible warmth that only a specialfriend can provide. Despite his busy life, Adam took us in for aslong as we wanted to stay and gave us the key to the city and his apartmentThe weather happened to be great during our time in Chicago so we were able to see the beach, tour Millennium Park, take in a free concert andeven go out and see the Perseid Meteor shower. I think I did seeone shooting star.After we left Chicago, we stopped in Minneapolis, MN where we met upwith our friends David and Marilyn Bengtson. It also so happens thatI met David via my poetry administration life way back when. After a nice lunch, we unexpectedly (some might even say "mistakenly") signed up for one of Minneapolis' "Best Hidden" walking tour titled, 'Bob's Pierless Tour and Ice CreamHunt'. We knew this tour would be good since Trip Advisor named this tour, "Best Hidden."This lively, three-hour tour (unlike the crew from the TV show 'Gilligan')did not end up on a desert island but it did seem to come with a similarstoryline and laugh track. The tour basically begins with somebody makinga seemingly innocuous comment like, "I'd like some ice cream." What you getin return is a thorough tour of 3-4 blocks of downtown Minneapolis on ahot day culminating in enjoying something that ends up not being icecream at all. I could go on but you really had to be there. Andrea andI give this tour a '10' on Trip Advisor for the warmth, kindness, humorand friendship Bob, and his co-conspirator Betty, showed us during ourtoo brief stay. The tour ends with the obligatory tour pics includingshots with the famous Mary Tyler Moore statue which Bob insists, "reallyis there. You just have to squint really hard."

After our goodbyes, we get back in the car and we are both feeling chargedwith energy as if we just started our long trip that day. Maybe it was somethingin that faux ice cream or perhaps it was something about Bob and Betty?Maybe Bob and Betty were really aliens from another planet who gave usnew energy in return for a few simple, colorful pieces of sea-glass we combedfrom some Mediterranean Beach a few months earlier. I mean, doesn't it seemstrange to you that a walking tour only charges customers pieces of sea-glass??

It was after leaving Minnesota that we once again faced more challengingweather conditions including driving through the edge of another severestorm. This one was the worst and was thankful that we made it through alright.

We drove passed cornfields and sunflower fieldsd in S. Dakota, stopping at the world famous Corn Palace known for its murals made entirely of corn. We then hunkered down for a few days in Kadoka, South Dakota. From there we get to the 'Bad'.

....the Bad.The Badlands that is. The storm moved east and a bright, glorious morningwelcomed us. We hoped in the car and entered the amazing Badlands National Park. A mixture of Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Iceland it seemed tous. Walking through the terrain felt like being on another planet andthe 60 mile drive through the park was filled with opportunities to justpull over and take in the views.

After the Badlands we take it views of Mt. Rushmore, Keystone, Lead, Deadwood and theincredible Black Hills of South Dakota.Next stop for us is Yellowstone National Park and then on to Salt LakeCity!